Raya Barazanji

Senior Program Officer, Center for Conflict Management

Contact

Please submit all media inquiries to interviews@usip.org or call 202.429.3869.

For all other inquiries, please call 202.457.1700.

Languages: Arabic

Issue Areas: Gender and Peacebuilding, Human Rights, Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding, Rule of Law, Training, Youth and Peacebuilding

Countries: Iraq

Raya Barazanji is a Senior Program Officer in USIP's Center for Conflict Management, with responsibility for the Institute's grantmaking in Iraq as well as other regions in the world. Prior to joining the Institute in 2010, she worked on counterterrorism projects relating to Iraq and the Middle East for a private sector corporation. Prior to that, and for eight years, she served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Iraq Foundation, a non-profit organization working for democracy and human rights in Iraq. In that capacity, she led the organization's team of local and expatriate staff in implementing projects in Iraq on democracy and human rights training, and partnered with two US based organizations to implement USAID initiatives in Iraq to develop the capacity of civil society and media organizations and revitalize Iraqi schools and its educational system. Additionally she managed a community organization program for Iraqi refugees in the US that was funded by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Barazanji holds a Masters degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University, and a BA in Translation from the College of Arts, Al-Mustansiriyah University in Baghdad.

Women Fighting for Peace in Iraq
Journal of International Peace Operations | January-February 2012
USIP Event >>

Publications & Tools

	USIP Grant Supported Iraqi Widows and Displaced People April 2012 \| Grant Highlight by Raya Barazanji In response to the crisis of widows and internally displaced persons in Iraq, USIP assisted the Women's Alliance for a Democratic Iraq’s work to provide this vulnerable population with practical education on legal rights, literacy, job-hunting and on-the-ground peacebuilding. Countries: Iraq \| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Gender and Peacebuilding, Mediation and Facilitation, Political Reform, Rule of Law
	Never too Young for Peace September 2011 \| Grant Highlight by Raya Barazanji Recognizing the potential role of youth as catalysts of social change, USIP's Iraq Grant Program partners with a number of youth organizations to promote peacebuilding and conflict resolution, and strengthen tolerance and mutual understanding in Iraqi communities that continue to experience high levels of intergroup conflict. Countries: Iraq \| Issue Areas: Education, Human Rights, Training, Youth and Peacebuilding
	Making a Difference in Kirkuk: One Policeman at a Time June 2011 \| Grant Highlight by Raya Barazanji USIP’s programs in Iraq aim to develop local capacities in conflict resolution and the rule of law. In that respect, USIP’s Iraq Priority Grant program supports a nongovernmental organization (NGO) based in the northern city of Kirkuk in its work to enhance community relations with the law enforcement units in this ethnically diverse city. Countries: Iraq \| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Security Sector Reform/Governance

Events

	December 6, 2011 Women Fighting for Peace in Iraq On December 6, the U.S. Institute of Peace facilitated a discussion featuring two women NGO leaders from Iraq whose USIP-supported projects enable them to promote positive participatory roles for women as peacebuilders and provide mechanisms and strategies to combat discrimination and violence against women in Iraq. Countries: Iraq \| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Gender and Peacebuilding, Political Reform \| Programs: Grant Program